It's no secret that I'm not the LG G5's biggest fan - but that doesn't mean there aren't things I find myself liking, nay, loving, about LG's latest smartphone. Let's break down my top five for the G5.

#1: The wide-angle camera

Solution looking for a problem? OK, maybe, I guess - my colleague Liam Spradlin (sorry, Liam) kind of has it out for this dual-camera system, but I believe it's going to be a hugely fun feature for people who take a lot of smartphone photos. The two images below, I think, show you just what a difference the wide-angle lens can make when you're capturing a scene.

The wide-angle camera allows you to capture a hugely greater area than the standard camera, making it perfect for big landscape shots, group photos (especially indoors), or really capturing what a room or space looks like. It's also just plain fun. And you can even record (4K!) video with the wide-angle camera, which is bound to produce some interesting results. And these wide-angle photos look a lot better than what you get by slapping on one of those mini-lens kits to an iPhone, the optics are far, far better optimized.

This is actually probably my favorite thing about the G5, full stop: this camera. The novelty is something that I think won't easily wear off on owners, and there's no doubt this setup will create more usable or visually appealing images in certain situations. For the one thing many people were prepared to write off as the G5's "gimmick," the wide-angle camera is probably the surprise hit. I want this on all of my smartphones.

#2: The removable battery

LG has gone out of its way to design a metal smartphone with a user-removable battery, something you don't see anywhere else in this price bracket. Not Sony, not HTC, not Samsung, not Apple (obviously), not Motorola: just LG. And for someone who really doesn't mind carrying around a few extra batteries for that peace of mind, this is pretty awesome. If I worked the kind of job that had me out in the field, not at a desk or in a car for extended durations, swappable batteries would provide real added convenience, no doubt.

Carrying around a portable charger means having your phone tethered to the thing, and that can be a major annoyance. Being able to pop out your phone's battery, swap in a fully-charged one (and charge the other one in the charging cradle with a portable battery in your backpack, for example), and just boot up and keep on going is a real value-add if you need it. And LG's the only one giving it to you.

#3 The IR blaster

Do the Galaxy S7 and HTC 10 have an infrared blaster? NOPE. Samsung and HTC have dropped the IR port on their latest devices, but like the removable battery, LG isn't letting this thing die just yet. Samsung in particular took a lot of heat when they dropped the IR blaster starting with the Galaxy Note 5 last year. LG seems to definitely be making a thing of keeping around features that are popular with power users on their devices, and the IR transmitter is no exception.

IR transmitters can be used for home entertainment systems and other devices in your home that utilize IR to communicate. Smart home enthusiasts may also have their own specific uses for IR transmit capabilities, so the feature could be particularly critical for existing, customized setups.

It also, of course, lets you control your TV directly with your smartphone, which if you're in a house where the remote is getting lost frequently (or perhaps more common today: the battery is dead), this can be a much handier way to control things.

#4 LG's greatly-improved track record with Android OS updates

OK, this one isn't specific to the G5, but it could matter a lot to owners of the G5 a few months from now when Android N is released. Do you know when the LG G4 first started receiving Android 6.0 Marshmallow? Late October 2015, mere weeks after Google uploaded Android 6.0 to AOSP. The first Galaxy S7 variants didn't get Android 6.0 until a few months later, in February 2016. LG was also quite quick when updating the G3 to Lollipop in 2014.

Now, US carrier versions of the G5 will obviously wait longer than a few weeks to get their major Android OS updates - US G4s got Marshmallow in February, though Sprint's version managed December. Galaxy S6s in the US didn't start getting Marshmallow until earlier this month (April). But LG has been consistently quick in the last couple of years with OTAs, and they're also not leaving devices behind - the G3 just got Marshmallow on AT&T and T-Mobile yesterday. That was a fairly long wait compared to the G4, but the G3 still got the update. The vast majority of Galaxy S5s in America still don't have Marshmallow at all, and the global rollout just really ramped up last week.

So, four or five months from now, LG G5s in America could be receiving Android N already, while Galaxy S7 owners may be left waiting weeks, or quite possibly months, longer for all that N goodness.

#5 [Some Versions] The FM Radio

Another legacy feature that Samsung and HTC have basically abandoned on newer devices? Yep: FM radio is a legitimately useful add-on, and one that basically every smartphone should support, but that has nearly been destroyed by the profit motives of the music streaming and wireless carrier industries.

LG's unlocked G5s should all ship with FM radio enabled as far as I know - my unlocked EU version has the FM radio app installed by default. Unfortunately, I already know Verizon has disabled it on their G5, but it does appear to be active on Sprint's (you'll apparently have to download an app to use it, though). It looks like T-Mobile and AT&T may have disabled it, as well, annoyingly.

But for those of you outside the US, the Galaxy S7 and HTC 10 don't offer FM radio at all - the G5 is the only one of the big three flagships this spring that is at least trying to give you this out of the box.

What about you?

What are your top five features or value-adds for the LG G5? Don't forget to check out our other "five things I love" posts for the Galaxy S7 and HTC 10! And as mentioned before, there will also be the flipside: five things we don't like. Be on the lookout for all of them.

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Eumelanin Knight

The articles not happening they said
There aren't five good things about the LG G5 they said
Hah! Suck it doubters!
Lol..But seriously..Great article. Worth the wait because now I know the G5 is the techie hipster of android phones. FM is great feature to have in emergencies. No idea why it'd be disabled in phone that have the capability...

1-3 were good. 4-5 is where you can see @rdr0b11:disqus reaching for something to mention. If FM Radio and not even a feature of the actual device are 2 of 5 good reasons to own a device, and one is struggling to find something better, that tells me a lot.

FM radio functionality provides free music streaming, disabling it forces you to use data and (potentially) give more money to the carrier. It's like Dave said, it's just another way to profit by removing very usable features.

Basically, a lot of mobile operators in the US don't like FM radio because it's not using network data, meaning they're not getting paid for your use of that data. I get that's less an issue in some countries. In addition, mobile music streaming companies hate it even more, because it encourages you, in theory, not to use their paid / ad-supported services.

Obviously the streaming companies are much more the ones with the interests here. Why would Google give you FM radio on the Nexus 6P when they have an interest in selling you a Play Music subscription? It's as ridiculously petty and dumb as it sounds. The FM/BT modules on pretty much any smartphone can act as FM receivers, there's nothing technically difficult about it all.

someone755

But what about other areas, especially where mobile data is still too expensive to be able to stream music as frequently as one would through FM radio?
As bad as the channels over here are, I couldn't survive a drive to the gas station without the good old radio.

And how can some companies avoid Google's will and implement the function in their phones regardless?

This isn't about Google in particular, that's just an example. Any company can build in FM radio to their smartphone (it doesn't take much effort at all), they just have to build or bundle an app to use it, too.

someone755

Then again, of what benefit would not including FM radio be to the OEMs? The only things I can imagine are either laziness or getting paid by US carriers (because honestly I don't think there's any other country where this would make sense; though that begs the question why the international models don't bear the functionality, then).

US carriers can negotiate that they want it disabled. They've been doing it for years. In addition, everything above: preload pay/referral arrangements are another one, and those do happen all over the world, with or without carriers. It all comes down to a tangled web of business decisions, because the technical and cost considerations are basically inconsequential.

MJ

OK, we all know carriers suck but why does the unlocked HTC 10 not have FM radio?

someone755

I honestly don't understand why OEMs conform to US carriers -- if a carrier has no phones to sell it loses a lot of its income. Why don't manufacturers use their power to at least some extent? (Though maybe they are but the effects of that are pretty much invisible to me.)
I just hope that in the long run that doesn't mean FM radio will die out and I'll have to carry around my 2012 device to just listen to radio for free. It saddens me how easy money for these companies results in loss for the end user (despite the feature costing next to nothing to implement).

Kevin Sword

The problem with that is getting high profile manufacturers to not offer their phones if the carrier doesn't want FM. Samsung should be the one doing this IMO.

Have you seen nextradioapp.com ? They're working with alot of carriers to enable the fm chips and bringing the experience into the 21st century by fetching album art, schedules etc from the Web and automatically switching to a stream if the fm signal is too weak.

Stoffers

Ah, so they're making sure it uses data.

William Worlde

I thought today's "kids" didn't listen to RADIO anymore? I guess the grass IS always greener on the other side.
I don't know about you, but FM radio still broadcasts ads in my neck of the world; *still* very annoying!

Or here's a novel idea: Load up your device's external or internal storage with some of your favourite songs. I don't know if you'll go through ~20GB of music from A – B, or as a matter-of-fact, A – Z.

BTW, here's one of my favourite albums: Nation II Nation by A Tribe Called Red. You'll want to chant and do your own (warped) form of a native dance!

Jovic77

You're thinking different. Most kids these days from developing countries (such as the Philippines) grows up with FM Radio by their side. Internet's pretty slow here and is expensive, so music streaming services is still not that popular.

It's surprising that US carriers disable FM, while all devices in the Philippines (including Tablets and carrier-locked devices) has an FM Radio included, such as the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime.

T4rd

My Verizon One M8's FM radio worked out of the box, you just had to side-load HTC's radio app. Not sure how that one slipped through the cracks though, as they usually do disable the FM radio on other phones.

Starcube

You clearly hate it enough to have photographed it on brick yet again. :P

Which uses data, which uses more battery and is only good if you have WiFi or a good data signal. I've actually used my M8's tuner at drive-in theaters too (since they broadcast on FM freqs), which is pretty nice/convenient.

The T-Mo S7/S7e do not have FM radio at this time. It may come in a later software update, though.

Scott Ricketts

Coming off the s6e, #4 was the deciding factor. I am not going to deal with another flagship that can't stay within 60 days of the Google Security Update.

OrionBeast

Just a random comment here..

Russell Canning

Dude we already saw your other "duhh I'm just making a random comment."
You're not witty, clever or interesting. ..

OrionBeast

Cool!

()

blindexecutioner

I wish T-mobile would enable the FM radio in their phones. As far as I know the CEO said they were going to in future phones like a year ago but he must have been lying.

jonathan3579

Yep, that was definitely just shit spewing from his mouth. I'm pretty sure he forgets half of what he says... It must be hard keeping all those lies together.

OrionBeast

l like to comment on every post... i may-may not have anything to say. but this is a comment. good day!

Falcon

It took you a long time to come up with these david :D

opticalgenesis

sorry to be 'that guy', but typo in: "...but like the removable battery, LG isn'tf letting this thing die just yet."

Daniyyel Django Touboul

Haha, You actually passed on the "1. I dont need to buy it."
;)

samuelmaskell

Why is carrying an extra phone battery (that only works with this particular phone) better than just carrying an external battery (which works with every phone and any other device that charges via usb)? Buying a second battery for one specific phone seems like a total waste of money to me.

Jayraj Roshan

The extra battery + the charging cradle doubles as a power bank too.

just passing

Because you have to be tethered to an external battery and that's annoying. In your case why have either? Why not just pop your sim into your next phone when your battery dies?

You can praise the G5's features from the mountain tops, but if it's ugly I don't want it.
Example, the Citroën DS from the 1960's are one of the ugliest cars – EVER! (Thank goodness the company's made new, better-looking models.) No matter what options they were to give that car, I wouldn't buy it.

Earlier today, perusing the blogs and looking at all the near-$1,000 (Effin' insane! It's a PHONE!) devices, I'm loving my G3 (2-year old technology) even more.
Besides being beautiful, LG – once again – was ahead of its time with that phone's design and first-class innards – even by today's standards.

I'll wait for the G6.

Đức Thành

IR Blaster? Update track record?? Muthafaking FM RADIO??? Sounds like David had to really be trying to find enough positive things to say about this phone to fill the quota :D

lorenzob

To PRAISE #2 I just got the battery charging cradle for the G5 and MAN let me tell you!!!

It actually DOUBLES as a battery bank! #neat

LG has it set up to where there are light indicators on the side to show what level the removable battery is at along with a power button to power off the cradle/bank.

When you turn it ON, just plug in any USB cable through the regular USB port (right next to the USB Type C port) & BAM it will start charging anything hooked up to it like a battery bank!

Sure, 2800 mah might not be much but at least it give you ANOTHER benefit for having a removable battery & a cradle with your phone!

HOLD UP

Even the nexuses do this. Lg is still shit sorry

lorenzob

What the hell and you talking about! Nexus don't even have a REMOVABLE BATTERY you IDIOT!!!

ASYOUTHIA ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ

+1 for the IR Blaster. I use it 10+ times a day

phatmanXXL ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ

Same

fn noobee

Thanks for the other side of the coin. Everyone picks at the small things they don't like and completely ignore the really useful features. I'm not really a camera nut, so haven't used the wide eye lens too much but some off the other features are really game changers and I won't go back to using a phone without them. Once I first realized the convenience of being able to quickly swap a battery instead of waiting around for it too finish charging, I don't want T to go back. I have three kids. You know how many times I lose remotes? Every time I just pick up my phone and control almost anything in my living room that uses remotes. And even on the software side, there are features like hiding home soft keys per app settings which is really helpful for gaming or other media apps that don't have immersive mode support. Are there some things I'm not completely happy with? Sure. But the benefits of the features outweigh the cons of this device.

Jasdeep Singh

David, seems these 5 things took a lot of effort to write :)

FM radio?

Spencer BK Ellis

This would be a fine phone if #1 it was rootable #2 the battery lasted longer than 5 hours and #3 secondary camera APS like Snapchat didn't force close all the time on it. I'm pretty disappointed in those aspects of the phone.

dep

FM-radio, is it joke?)

Dennis Nilsson

How is the sensibility of the FM on G5?

I have an LG G3 and a Samsung S2. It is a big difference in the sensibilty of G3 and S2. The G3 does only pickup strong FM-stations and not the low power FM stations.